Seville rallies past Nancy, both teams qualify

Baloncesto Seville made it to the Eurocup Last 32 in Group C by downing SLUC Nancy 85-75 at home on Wednesday. Seville improved to 5-4 and mathematically advanced to the next round. Meanwhile, Nancy dropped to 5-4 and will also keep fighting for Eurocup glory in 2015. Alex Urtasun paced the winners with 20 points on 4-of-5 three-point shots. Willy Hernangomez added 17, 8 rebounds and 5 steals, Ben Woodside had 11 points and 6 assists while Berni Rodriguez had 10 points for Seville. Vaughn Duggins led Nancy with 15 points. Ryan Reid added 13, Randal Falker had 12 while Valentin Bigote got 11 for the guests. Seville led 19-16 after 10 minutes but a 0-11 run and an outstanding Falker allowed Nancy to get a 35-41 edge at halftime. A three-pointer by Sergii Gladyr gave Nancy its biggest lead, 37-49. It didn't last long, as Nikola Radicevic led a 13-0 run which put Seville ahead for good, 50-49. Seville improved its margin to 59-53 after 30 minutes and then again to 70-57 right after that. Nancy got within 70-67 but Urtasun sealed the outcome with three bombs from downtown in crunch time.

Pierre Oriola and Urtasun struck from downtown in an early 8-0 Seville run. Florent Pietrus and Hernangomez traded jump hooks and Valntin Bigote kept Nancy within 10-6. Falker and Pietrus stepped up for Nancy but a layup by Urtasun kept Seville ahead, 14-10. Radicevic took over with a coast-to-coast layup and a jumper by Kristaps Porzingis gave the hosts a 19-14 edge. A wild put-back slam by Bandja Sy fixed the score at 19-16 after 10 minutes. Nancy found a go-to guy in Reid, who had 7 points in a 0-11 run which gave the guests a 19-27 margin. Derrick Byars nailed a jumper and a three-pointer by Woodside kept the hosts within 24-27. Hernangomez took over with a three-point play but Duggins and Darius Adams each hit one from beyond the arc and Falker gave the guests a 27-35 margin. Porzingis dunked but Pietrus and Falker made it a double-digit game, 29-39. Urtasun and Hernangomez kept Seville as close as 35-41 at halftime. Bigote nailed a three-pointer right after the break and soon added a jumper for a 37-46 Nancy margin. A three-pointer by Gladyr gave the guests their first double-digit margin, 37-49. Seville found a go-to guy in Radicevic, who had 7 points - including a nine-meter bomb - in a 13-0 run which put the hosts back ahead, 50-49. Reid scored again but Porzingis, Hernangomez and a big triple by Rodriguez allowed Seville to get a 59-53 edge after 30 minutes. Three-pointers by Rodriguez, Porzingis and Woodside broke the game open, 70-57. Duggins and Adams fueled a 0-10 run that gave Nancy hope, 70-67, but back-to-back triples by Urtasun allowed Seville to celebrate a go-ahead home win.

Head Coaches

WEISZ, ALAIN

SLUC Nancy

"I want to say 'bravo' to Seville. It is a team I like very much - I like the way they play, with a lot of good young players, but also experienced ones like Alex Urtasun, Berni Rodriguez and Ben Woodside, who arrived to give this team what it needed. I am not surprised they beat Barcelona this week. For us, it was a good game. We lost the game but it was a good game for us. We had a very good first half and in the third quarter, when Seville played tougher, more aggressive, we couldn't answer. That is the biggest regret in this game; we had a lot of turnovers and could not match their aggressiveness. I think there is nothing to regret with this loss. Seville was better than us tonight, but we had a good game. Both teams qualified and we will see what will happens when we are in different groups."

Players

URTASUN, ALEX

Baloncesto Seville

"It was an up and down game, with very good and very bad moments. In the end, we managed to win the game. It was a tough game, with a lot of pressure and this is a very important win. We qualified to the next round because Charleroi lost and it is very important to keep going forward in this beautiful competition. We hope we can advance past the second round if possible and reach the elimination rounds, which are great games, which everyone wants to play. It is great to play the Eurocup and it is as important as the Spanish League to us. Some of the best teams in Europe are in this competition. We have to enjoy it, because you cannot play it every year."